Unbound (The Captive #7)(65)

Max sat back on his heels as she lifted her chin. He didn’t know what to make of this woman, but beneath her obstinate stare, he sensed her vulnerability. Her eyes followed his movements when he grasped the edge of his shirtsleeve. For the first time since he’d been freed of the palace, he willingly pulled his shirt back to reveal the bite marks and burns marring his flesh.

A muscle twitched in the corner of her eye as she gazed at his scars before looking back to where Timber and Daniel were now watching them both. “My name is Maeve,” she said without glancing at him again.

Max settled his sleeve back into place and leaned against the dirt wall. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Maeve.”

When those entrancing blue eyes again met his, he realized he’d actually meant it. Since his time as a blood slave, there were few people in this world he wanted to meet. He never knew who to trust, but he was glad this girl had stumbled across them.

His attention was pulled away from her when shadows danced across the holes in the roots once more, blocking the flow of light into their small cavern as someone passed above. Max held his breath when one of the figures walking above stopped directly over their small cavern.

***

Melinda

“I don’t like how quiet it’s been,” Melinda said as she surveyed the empty town sprawled out before them from the top of the wall. “When will she make her move?”

“Soon, but she may still be looking for Braith,” Ashby said from beside her.

Gideon grunted in response as a cat ran out from between two of the homes and into the woods. A scrap of garbage, caught up in the wind, danced down the street before going still.

They’d managed to evacuate some of the surrounding towns; unfortunately, they’d also uncovered a few towns like William had discovered when he’d been hunting for Kane. The vampires in the town, who weren’t killed outright, had been locked into cells where they’d been starved until they’d become nothing but mindless monsters who were incapable of being saved and had to be put down.

There were no signs of any humans in the towns. The bodies of the vampire children the king’s guard discovered had left them with a thirst for revenge against those who had killed the children.

Unfortunately, they didn’t know where Sabine’s vampires were, as they’d shown no sign of themselves in the two days since Aria’s message had sailed over the wall. There were no nearby towns for Sabine to go through and rampage anymore. It was only a matter of time before the woman made it here.

“She’s going to eventually give up her search for him and come for us,” Gideon said. “Probably sooner rather than later. We’re still weakened without him and she knows it. Now is the prime time for her to pounce.”

Melinda’s hand instinctively fell to her belly at his words. It was still too soon for her to be showing, but every day she fell deeper in love with the child growing within her, and she would do everything she could to keep it safe. Catching her protective movement, Ashby rested his hand over the top of hers.

“We will get through this,” he vowed.

Gideon glanced between them before his gaze fell to her stomach. “Congratulations.”

“I bet that hurt, didn’t it?” Ashby asked.

Gideon actually chuckled. “A little.”

A flash of movement drew Melinda’s attention back to the street. She tensed, her fangs tingling as she watched shadows slipping through the trees.

“I don’t think that’s the cavalry,” Ashby said.

“Our quiet is about to end,” Gideon said.

A rock lodged in her throat as she watched the vampires cloaked in brown slipping from the trees. They moved with the determined step of those who believed they had a right to be here and believed they couldn’t lose.

“What if she’s found Braith?” Melinda whispered.

“The men and women gathered within here have all seen, or at least heard, what she’s done to those other towns. They will fight her no matter what,” Gideon replied with far more confidence than she felt right now.

Melinda tried to believe him. However, the vamps here may not like what had been done to those towns, they may resist Sabine, but no one wanted to die. When they got a sense of Sabine’s power, they may well think they had no chance of defeating her.

All around the wall, the king’s guard raised their bows in preparation of a fight, but the vamps entering the town stopped before they could be within easy striking range of the walls. The rock in her throat grew into a boulder as the intruders split to each side of the road in one fluid motion.

“Well trained,” Ashby murmured.

“Ours are better trained,” Gideon replied.

From the edge of the forest, Melinda watched as the striking woman they’d seen once before, stepped out of the woods to walk through the vampires who had split apart to create an aisle for her. Her vivid red cloak was as bright as blood on snow against the gray, overcast day as she moved toward them.

Gideon’s nostrils flared. “Power,” he said.

“A lot of it,” Melinda replied. “Enough that those in here may follow her if they think we will lose.”

“We need Braith.”

“In case you forgot, there is a bit of a problem with that right now,” Ashby said.

Gideon cast him a scathing look. “Then we will hold her off until the problem is resolved.”